Formerly Donbas-based billionaire Rinat Akhmetov tallies further losses:
The State Council [parliament] of Crimea has declared the local assets of Ukrtelecom, the major Ukrainian private telecommunication company belonging to Ukrainian tycoon Rinat Akhmetov, which held the monopoly over landline telephone services in the region, the republic's property at a session on Wednesday, an Interfax correspondent has reported.
UKRAINE'S FINANCE MINISTER YARESKO SAYS "HOPES" TALKS WITH ALL HOLDERS OF SOVEREIGN DEBT WILL START AT THE BEGINNING OF MARCH AFTER AN IMF DEAL IS REACHED - INTERFAX UKRAINE
Moscow continues to try to ratchet up the pressure for a deal of some sort today.
These news flashes via Reuters:
RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC SOURCE SAYS 70 PCT LIKELY THERE WILL BE AN AGREEMENT ON UKRAINE ON WEDS
"THE PRESIDENTS AREN'T TRAVELLING (TO MINSK) FOR NO REASON" - RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC SOURCE SAYS
From Reuters:
Ukraine's Finance Minister Natalia Yaresko said on Wednesday she hoped talks with all holders of Ukrainian sovereign debt would start in early March after a deal is reached with the International Monetary Fund, Interfax news agency quoted her as saying.
"Ukraine will start consultations with all holders of sovereign eurobonds after an agreement is reached with the IMF. These consultations with creditors I hope will start at the beginning of March," she was quoted as saying.
The Finance Ministry said it had not directly approached Russia to restructure a $3 billion loan that falls due in December. On Tuesday Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Kiev had asked Moscow to restructure its debts.
Interfax quotes Russian State Duma Chairman Sergei Naryshkin as vowing, "Let me underline this: Russia cannot imagine itself detached from the global economy and, naturally, it has no intention of isolating itself and will not allow anyone else to do so, no matter how high and mighty their statements and actions may be."
Particularly interesting given that Kazakhstan's president -- possibly out of sensitivity to the large number of ethnic Russians in his country -- is generally regarded as having steered clear of attacks on the West since Russia invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
Nazarbaev Calls U.S. And EU Sanctions On Russia 'Barbaric'
Agencies quote the Kremlin confirming that Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend talks with the leaders of Ukraine, France, and Germany today in Minsk, Belarus.
An image from Donetsk, where a shell struck a bus station and killed at least one person (confirmed), perhaps more.
Today's situation map from Ukrainian military authorities, which probably looks a bit different from the map that will be parsed over today in Minsk:
